Thinning hair help :(

[SnBLurker]

Hi,

Late 30's, heavy periods lead to low ferritin, which I'm assuming gas lead to my hair loss.

Because I always had very thick hair, even when I could see a carpet of hair on the floor, in the shower, I could 'get away with it' because I had a lot of buffer I suppose. Not so much anymore. The re growth just isn't keeping up with the loss and now my hair is starting to look properly thin. Because it's natural quite coarse/curly, it can look a little thicker than it actually is, but when it's wet... 😒 it looks awful. It's so flat at the top, even when dry and when I move my hair off my face, you can see how thin it is around my temples. My hairline is receding too. Hairdresser said no to a curtain fringe/bangs, as it wouldn't sit right on my face. I thought it might help hide the thinning a bit 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, my pattern seems to be a couple of months of 'normal' shedding, then a couple of insane shedding. Loads when I wash, like a full handful, then more when I dry, then more every time I brush or even gently run my fingers through.

Things I've tried :

Hair and nails supplements (usually vit b, biotin etc mix)
Ferrous fumerate every 3rd day
Heme iron supplement (only in the past couple of weeks)
Bondi Boost shampoo

I did the tea scalp soaking thing (green tea) but actually found my hair came out more, so stopped.

I should say, this has been happening over the past 8 - 10 years, but is now really starting to ramp up and as I say, is becoming really quite noticeable now.

Is that it? ☹️

I took iron pills, didn't do the IV but I know sb who did and I think you do it once every now and then, you don't do 10 IVs in a day... or even one a day. It's much much more effective than pills and it doesn't hurt the stomach. Over here you have to take the IV in a hospital or a clinic because of possible allergies, you shouldn't do it at home because you need sb to supervise.

I had one iron IV and my levels went from the 30's to around 200 (but it will have settled to somewhere lower by now). Having bloods again for another reason tomorrow so I'll ask to get it checked again.

I had alopecia areata (unrelated to low ferritin) but the specialist said higher ferritin would support regrowth. Touch wood - my patch of hair loss has now regrown.

So pleased for you! Do you mind me asking how long your ferritin was at (or around) the higher level before the hair grew back? Do you feel like it was part of that process?

My hair started to break off at a very fast rate after having Covid - just one of those side effects I guess. I tried everything and it was just getting thinner and thinner. I then did a little research and decided to try "conditioner only" cleansing. I wash my hair several times a week, using only conditioner which I massage in for a few minutes before rinsing out, but then once a week use a detox shampoo to get rid of any build up. Once a week I also put Coconut Oil on my hair and leave in overnight. All the above has now left my hair in the best conditioner it has ever been in. The breakage has all but stopped (except for what anyone would expect) and I can now see the new hairs growing in places where it broke off. Not saying it would work for everyone but it certainly worked for me. Definitely worth a try if all else fails

Hi Twoanklebiters well my ferritin went straight from 30's to over 200 so it wasn't incremental. From memory my dermatologist said that hair likes to have ferritin in the 80's or higher for hair growth. I also took hair vitamins (biotin) and other things (like probiotics/curcumin) for inflammation which was thought to cause the hair loss. I guess how you approach it all depends on the cause - but it can be difficult to get to the bottom of that.

Thank you so much for this thread! My hair is thinning too and I thought it was due to the menopause but I do have low ferritin and anaemia after an unstoppable period (until I was given meds to stops it). I will look into an iron infusion I think.

Hope the responses are helping OP.

OP you have described my exact hair type. 3yrs ago I had flu followed by pneumonia was Ill for 3 months. 6 months after illness hair started to shred filled bath plug hole absolutely horrendous lost about half of my hair. Luckily I had a lot to use.Went to boots in despair looking for hair supplements a lovely member of staff asked what I wanted I broke down in tears she recommended boots hair skin and nails supplements. I religiously took them every day not a quick fix but within 3 months could see the difference. My hair is back to normal now grows really quick, is thick. It might be coincidence but I still take the supplements every day now. Maybe worth a try. X

@TopSec I did actually have covid a couple of months ago, but the shedding has been on and off for almost a decade. Saying that, I'm pretty sure the shedding got worse the past few weeks, so the increase could certainly be related. The last time I washed my hair, it was so bad. Possibly the worst. Just stood in the shower crying, because I couldn't see how I would have anything left soon.

@Chill09 I do take a hair skin and nail supplement, but not that one. I suspect they're all very similar with what they contain. Might try and find the ingredients list and see. Glad you had such success with them.

I've had thinning for a decade and despite taking iron I have never managed to get my ferritin over 20. Usually it hivers around 11. I used to use clip in extensions but I don't have enough hair to cover the clips now.